Chapter 28: Mysterious Fruit

## Chapter 28: Mysterious Fruits

The legendary roc is mentioned in many ancient texts, such as the *Classic of Divine Marvels* and the *Commentary on the Water Classic*. However, the most famous description comes from Zhuangzi's *Free and Easy Wandering*:

"In the Northern Ocean there is a fish, whose name is Kun. The Kun's size is unknown for thousands of miles. When it transforms into a bird, its name is Peng. The Peng's back is unknown for thousands of miles across. When it rages and flies, its wings are like clouds hanging from the sky."

With a grand and unrestrained brushstroke, Zhuangzi depicted a divine bird capable of soaring ninety thousand *li* into the sky, a sight that evokes awe.

Evidently, this description defies the natural order of things; no divine bird, no matter how large, could possess such a massive body. This was an extreme exaggeration by ancient people. What is perplexing, however, is that the roc is also mentioned in many other ancient documents. Furthermore, numerous ancient texts assert with certainty that the roc truly existed, though not to the thousands of miles described in the legend.

This inevitably leads one to wonder if a divine bird named "Peng" (roc) truly existed in the ancient world.

Zhou Yi and the others watched the golden silhouette, seemingly cast from molten gold, disappear behind a cliff face, their faces filled with shock.

"The legendary divine bird!" many exclaimed after overcoming their initial petrification. It was a profound shock: effortlessly tearing apart a giant elephant, soaring skyward, and seemingly clutching nothing more than a pika, its immense size left them dumbfounded, and its colossal strength rendered them speechless.

Kade, with a serious expression, stammered, "That giant bird... it belongs to the Falconiformes order of raptors. This is a... new species, a... great discovery."

"Go stand over there!" Pang Bo was truly speechless at this stubborn foreigner. "At a time like this, he's still analyzing things from a scientific perspective, without even considering how we got here."

"Pang Bo, be nicer," Li Xiaoman said, her long eyelashes trembling slightly, and her beautiful eyes casting a displeased glance at him.

"I wasn't talking about you..." Pang Bo mumbled softly.

"What kind of world have we truly arrived in?" Once they calmed down, everyone had to ponder this question.

Traveling through the desolate universe, arriving in the starfield of the Big Dipper, and entering such a mysterious world—had they truly reached the resting place of the gods?

How they would survive was now everyone's primary concern. The path ahead was unknown, and everything required careful consideration.

Many gripped the divine relics in their hands, but at this moment, all the Buddhist artifacts had grown dim, some even cracked, showing lines of breakage, effectively destroyed.

The last bit of divine power in the relics had been absorbed by the ancient bronze coffin. Now, no divine radiance circulated, and holding them was no different from holding scrap metal. Yet, no one discarded them, hoping the divine relics could gather divine brilliance again for future use. If they could be repaired, they would be their greatest reliance going forward.

"Grrr..."

Someone's stomach rumbled, and many felt embarrassed. People always need to eat, drink, and relieve themselves, so many began to move, searching for a secluded spot to relieve themselves.

"They're suffering just to save face..." Pang Bo sneered, pouting his lips. "I, on the other hand, had the foresight to leave my great mark at the Heavenly Palace ruins on Mars. I believe that even after a few hundred years, it will still be one of humanity's greatest testaments to space exploration!"

"Pfft!"

Ye Fan, who had just taken a sip of water, promptly spat it out, nearly dropping the mineral water bottle in his hand.

"Brother, please don't say things like that when I'm drinking water. It'll kill me."

Those nearby couldn't stand the two of them anymore. They moved further away, each heading off to awkwardly take care of their personal needs.

Pang Bo burst into laughter after seeing everyone's expressions. Then, he deliberately coughed loudly in a certain direction, pretending to walk over, which immediately made the people behind the trees shiver, making it harder for them to relieve themselves.

Pang Bo chuckled twice, then squatted down, picked up two stones, and threw them. From behind the distant vines, Li Changqing's angry shout immediately followed: "Who's that? Who's so wicked?!" accompanied by Liu Yunzhi's annoyed snort.

Seeing the guy pick up another stone, intending to throw it in the direction Li Xiaoman had gone, Ye Fan quickly laughed and stopped him.

As everyone emerged, Pang Bo immediately put on a serious face, then pulled Ye Fan to wander around the mountaintop, looking for wild fruits to eat.

Although Ye Fan had collected a large bag of divine alligator corpses from the five-colored altar on Mars, neither of them wanted to force themselves to eat it and risk vomiting unless absolutely necessary.

"There's a spring pool over there," Pang Bo suddenly discovered.

Just a few dozen meters ahead, several old vines, as thick as water buckets, encircled an open space. In the center was a one-meter-square spring pool, gurgling like a divine well of sweet dew.

Beside the spring pool grew over a dozen small trees, each more than half a meter tall. Their leaves were broad, dripping with vibrant green, and shaped like human palms, resembling small multi-armed figures standing there. At the top of each little tree hung a single crimson fruit, shaped like a cherry but as large as a chicken's egg.

Ye Fan and Pang Bo hurried through the vines. They smelled the rich fruit aroma from a distance, and it instantly made their mouths water. After all, they hadn't eaten for a day and a night, and their stomachs were growling with hunger. If they didn't find food soon, they were prepared to grit their teeth and eat divine alligator meat.

"It smells so good! I've never encountered a fruit with such a rich aroma."

Upon closer approach, the fruit's fragrance became even more intense, overpowering even the mellow scent of a thousand-year-old wine cellar.

"Such an alluring scent... could it be poisonous?" They were both unsure, as often the most colorful and appealing things tend to be toxic.

"Never mind that! With such a fragrant aroma, I'd be willing to try it even if it's poisonous. I definitely don't want to eat those disgusting worms that used to crawl around in people's brains."

"Why don't you taste it first? You have a strong physique; if it's poisonous, you can definitely handle it."

"I think you're thick-skinned and immune to all poisons, perfectly suited for testing it."

Both were very open-minded. Even though they had arrived in an unfamiliar world, they weren't dejected, but instead faced it with optimism.

Ye Fan picked a crimson fruit; held in his hand, it looked incredibly tempting, clear and translucent, as if carved from red jade.

At that moment, Pang Bo also picked a bright red, translucent fruit and said, "I can't take it anymore. This fruit's aroma is too tempting. I can't resist; I have to taste it first."

"Let me go first."

They both took a gentle bite almost simultaneously. The moment the clear, shimmering red skin broke, an exquisitely fragrant aroma instantly rushed through their internal organs, permeating their entire bodies.

"Delicious!" Pang Bo almost swallowed his fingers. Juice flowed, bright red, with a lingering fragrance. The area was filled with a rich aroma.

"I've never tasted such a delicious fruit. Is it just because we're so hungry?" After eating their first fruit, they waited for a moment, only feeling a significant boost in energy, with no other discomfort.

"No poison."

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's continue!"

They sat by the one-meter-square spring pool and began to devour the fruits ravenously, juice splattering everywhere. When hunger reached a certain point, they felt like they could swallow their own tongues, let alone resist such sweet and fragrant fruits.

However, they each stopped after eating only four. Ye Fan said, "Let's take a few for Yi Yi and Zhang Ziling."

"We should. They must be starving too."

These small trees, over half a meter tall, were all vibrantly green and quite extraordinary. However, each tree only bore a single fruit at its top. A total of thirteen jade-like saplings grew around the spring pool, and now only five crimson, glistening fruits remained.

Pang Bo took a deep breath, leaned down, and sniffed the gurgling spring water. He said, "Strange, this spring water seems to have a fragrance too."

Ye Fan cupped some spring water in his hands and detected a faint fragrance. Though subtle, it was undeniably there. He said, "These small trees can bear such peculiar fruits; it's highly likely connected to this spring pool."

Pang Bo took several large gulps of the spring water and said, "It has a subtle sweetness, but unfortunately, it's just a unique taste; I don't feel anything after drinking it." He emptied the water from his mineral water bottles and began refilling them with this faintly fragrant spring water.

They rested there for a moment, finished the fruits, drank some spring water, and then picked the remaining five fruits. As they walked back, Pang Bo whispered, "Did you notice? After eating the fruits, the fatigue seems to have vanished. I feel full of energy now."

Ye Fan was also wondering the same thing. Hearing this, he immediately nodded and said, "It seems these red fruits are indeed extraordinary."

By this time, everyone had taken care of their personal needs. Some were gazing into the distance, surveying the terrain, while others gathered to discuss their next steps.

As Ye Fan and Pang Bo approached, a rich, fragrant aroma of fruit instantly emanated, drawing everyone's attention. Many involuntarily swallowed, as most of them were already feeling hungry.

"Yi Yi, here you go, eat quickly," Pang Bo said, handing two crimson fruits to Liu Yi Yi. They sparkled brightly under the sunlight.

Li Changqing stood nearby, and upon smelling the enticing fruit aroma, he couldn't help but exclaim, "Pang Bo, where did you find these fruits? Quick, share them with everyone, we're all starving!"

As he spoke, he stepped forward, treating himself like an insider, seemingly forgetting how he had maliciously targeted Ye Fan and almost killed him not long ago. He reached out to grab the remaining three fruits from Pang Bo's hand.